Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and The Scarlet Pimpernel Read online

  “‘When I questioned her she accepted that there had been a real person who fitted the profile of the Scarlet Pimpernel,’ said Mrs. Sparrow. ‘She told me the baroness had seen papers relating to him. However, he was not an English baronet like in the story, but a Frenchman.’

  From there it was a relatively short step to Louis Bayard, a man who cropped up regularly during her earlier research for Secret Service.

  “’I am in no doubt that Louis Bayard was the basis for the Scarlet Pimpernel character,’ she said. ’The life story of Bayard matches everything that is known of the Scarlet Pimpernel. I am certain he is the real Scarlet Pimpernel – and he was absolutely astonishing, more so even than the fictionalized version.’

  “The author explained that Bayard divided his time between Paris, where he enjoyed a flamboyant lifestyle and was feared by Napoleon, and London, where he kept a low profile, advising British ministers on events across the Channel. In England he took the name Lewis Duval and adopted Swiss nationality. To improve his cover, the British even sent him to study Law at Cambridge.

  “Mrs. Sparrow believes Bayard’s charisma enabled him to influence the movers and shakers on both sides of the Channel, ultimately assisting the road to peace between the two countries. And when peace in Europe was finally achieved, Bayard turned his attention to British property law, becoming the principal exponent for the Land Registry, which was approved by Parliament in 1830.

  “It isn’t every day a historical writer solves a 200-year-old riddle, so what was it that convinced Elizabeth Sparrow she had indeed identified the real Scarlet Pimpernel?

  “’The exact moment I knew this person existed came when I discovered a number of ‘tokens’ in a box of papers among the Privy Council’s records at the Public Records Office in London’, she said. ’These were actual spy tokens. It was an absolutely amazing moment. There were three tokens. One is cut from a playing card of a king and bears a painted scarlet pimpernel on the reverse. Similar tokens were found in Louis Bayard’s Paris apartments when the police raided them and they were then copied to allow French agents to enter England. Until that moment I could not pin it to the person, but this was an irrefutable link.’

  “Phantom of the Guillotine has already received an enthusiastic welcome from academics, including Tim Blanning, Emeritus Professor of Modern European History at the University of Cambridge, who said: ’This is not just an important and original contribution to the history of the Revolutionary-Napoleonic period, but is also a thundering good read.’

  “Munro Price, Professor of Modern European History at Bradford, added: ’It is a remarkable and original work. On one level, it is an enthralling biography and detective story that convincingly identifies the real-life model for Baroness Orczy’s Scarlet Pimpernel. On another, wider level, it offers fascinating new insights, often based on unused sources, into the politics and espionage of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras and reminds us how much of both still remain mysterious.’

  “Mrs. Sparrow’s daughter, Cecilia, who designed and edited Phantom of the Guillotine, said she hoped historians and ordinary readers alike will enjoy the adventure.

  “‘It is both a spy story and the biography of an important man,’ she said. ’Most people have heard about the Scarlet Pimpernel, but to actually know there was a real person who fitted his description and his exploits is hugely interesting and hugely important historically.’”

  References:

  Phantom of the Guillotine by Elizabeth Sparrow is published by Carn Press at £20. It is available in shops, via Amazon or direct from Carn Press, Red House, Paul, Penzance TR19 6XA. The book will be officially launched at Waterstones bookshop in Truro at 7pm on October 23, 2013.

  Read more: http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Historian-solves-riddle-Scarlet-Pimpernel/story-19837877-detail/story.html#ixzz3pSNPUkQB

  Follow us: @WMNNews on Twitter | westernmorningnews on Facebook

  http://www.history.com/topics/french-revolution

  About the Author

  Denise O’Hara loves everything Jane Austen. She accidentally came across her first continuing story of Pride and Prejudice many years ago while browsing her public library. She excitedly checked the sequel out to take with her to Destin, Florida, one of her favorite vacation spots of all time! After years of loving Pride and Prejudice, she was so thrilled to get more of the story!

  Over the years, she read many Pride and Prejudice adaptations and sequels. Some were wonderful! She decided to jump into the Pride and Prejudice waters herself with her first three stories, A Pride and Prejudice Sequel: Life after the Wedding!

  She lives with her own Mr. Darcy of 29years. They enjoy simple things, like cooking and baking, having coffee or tea on the deck while eating their baked goods, and taking walks together. They have two grown children, whom they adore, Shane and Brooke. She and her Mr. Darcy are grateful to have parents nearby, as they love to spend time with family. They just wish there was more time to visit! Between them, they have ten sisters! That’s right, no brothers. Sisters are the best!!!

  And they are thankful for their many good friends from all over the world who are as true brothers and sisters to them!

  And as their friends will tell you, they love the Bee Gees! Just wanted to give them a shout out for all the countless hours of joy all 4 those Brothers Gibb have brought to Denise and her Mr. Darcy.

  Do you want to recreate the Chicken Cacciatore that Georgiana wrote to Elizabeth and Kitty about?

  Here’s a Fabulous Chicken Cacciatore Recipe

  by Proud Italian Cook Marie

  Great depth of flavors!!!

  http://www.prouditaliancook.com/2014/01/chicken-cacciatore-kind-day.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+ProudItalianCook+(PROUD+ITALIAN+COOK)

  Ingredients

  1 whole chicken, bone-in, skin on and each breast cut in half for smaller pieces

  8oz. mixed mushrooms, like crimini and shiitake

  1 onion, diced medium

  1 small yellow and red pepper, diced medium

  2 small carrots, peeled and sliced

  5 garlic cloves, shaved

  Pitted kalamata olives, a large handful

  1 cup chicken broth

  1 cup white wine

  1 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes

  1 14 oz. can of tiny whole tomatoes or if not available just whole tomatoes

  Assorted herbs, parsley, basil, oregano and thyme

  Olive oil

  Salt and pepper

  Instructions:

  Season chicken with salt, pepper and sprinkled oregano.

  Heat a heavy cast iron skillet, drizzled with olive oil.

  Place chicken skin side down, and do not move it until it reaches a deep golden brown and it's easy to turn. Brown other side for a few minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.

  Add vegetables, garlic, salt and pepper to taste, a few twigs of thyme, sauté for 5 minutes.

  Add wine and let it reduce.

  Add chicken broth and tomatoes.

  Toss in 1 teaspoon each of salt, pepper and chopped fresh basil.

  Place the chicken back into the pan and sink it into the juices.

  Simmer on low, stove top, for a couple of hours or until chicken falls off the bone. Uncover.

  Garnish with fresh parsley.

  Serve with cooked pasta, polenta or warm crusty bread.

  References:

  Phantom of the Guillotine by Elizabeth Sparrow is published by Carn Press at £20. It is available in shops, via Amazon or direct from Carn Press, Red House, Paul, Penzance TR19 6XA. The book was officially launched at Waterstones bookshop in Truro at 7pm on October 23, 2013.

  Read more: http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Historian-solves-riddle-Scarlet-Pimpernel/story-19837877-detail/story.html#ixzz3pSNPUkQB

  Follow us: @WMNNews on Twitter | westernmorningnews on Facebook

  http://www.history.com/topics/french-revolution

  http://www.prouditaliancook.com/
2014/01/chicken-cacciatore-kind-day.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+ProudItalianCook+(PROUD+ITALIAN+COOK)